


The Real Reason Fusions Were Banned

by Digigal_transbian



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Homeworld is Horrible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24046246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Digigal_transbian/pseuds/Digigal_transbian
Summary: Steven learns the real reason the Diamonds banned cross gem fusions in previous eras.
Relationships: Steven Universe & White Diamond
Comments: 4
Kudos: 56





	The Real Reason Fusions Were Banned

"Hey White, I have a question."

"Yes Starchild?" White looks down at him, literally due to her significant size. Steven's noticed that she hasn't called him Starlight recently, he hopes that's because she no longer sees him as Pink. It took forever to get it through to her that he wasn't his mom, he's glad she's at least making progress on that front.

"Why were cross gem fusions banned in previous eras?" He asks with genuine earnesty.

White Diamond pauses, she hasn't thought about that in years. Now that Era 3 is well underway, all fusions are completely acceptable, so she hadn't had to recently. 

It's an easy enough question to answer, but she wants to see Steven figure it out himself.

"Why do you ask?" She presses curiously.

"Well, I was thinking about everything I know about gem history and then thought about Garnet, who's a fusion of a Ruby and Sapphire." Steven starts, "And I thought about her fusion in terms of like Era 1, and I realized that back then, she could have been treated as a combat Sapphire, which could drastically change the tides of a battle, but was thrown off to the side."

"Starchild," White Diamond chuckles, "We all knew that eons ago."

"Then why ban fusions?"

"All gems are made for a purpose, Starchild." She speaks with the voice of a patient mother teaching her child, "Cross gem fusions were going to be given a purpose eventually, but try to understand that we had our reasons."

"Wait really?" Steven asks, not expecting that answer, "What were those reasons?"

"The biggest issue with giving cross gem fusions a place in gem society was simply giving them all a purpose." White explained, "Two gems fuse to make one fusion, three gems can make four fusions, four gems can make eleven combinations, add more and it gets out of hand how many fusions can be made. With each fusion, you take a number of gems that already have a purpose and make something new of them, and now that final gem needs a purpose in the empire."

"But-" Steven tries. 

"Starchild," White interrupts calmly, "There are hundreds of different types of gem that would have had to be accounted for. Which answer is more appealing: give every cross gem fusion a purpose, which involves thousands of combinations of gems as well as figuring it out for higher numbers of gems in the fusion, or just keep everything simple and manageable and ban them entirely until it can eventually be worked through?"

It was Steven's turn to pause at that one, they were working through them?

"It was a slow process," White continues, ignoring the look of shock that crossed Steven's face at the mention of it, "It was among our plans for an Era 2, but we were trying to integrate fusions into the system we had. It just took so much time, and then Pink left, the gem civil war started, and then before we knew it, Era 3 began and the issue of fusions having purpose became a moot point."

"So you're saying…" Steven drifts off.

"Given the necessary amount of time, cross gem fusions would have been allowed." White Diamond confirms, "I was working through the Corrundum and Beryl families, Yellow was dealing with Quartz, Feldspars, and Tourmalines, while Blue handled Garnets, Jades, and other aristocratic types of gem. We didn't give any to Pink, the three of us agreed that she was a bit too inexperienced to be allowed near major societal changes like that."

"So it wasn't because love could distract them from the purpose they were given?"

"I've personally never understood the concept of romance, but I can understand it on a general level and on an efficiency level. A happier gem is more productive because they have more reasons to be. So long as their work quality wasn't diminished, there'd be no reason to have fusions banned. In fact, it would have made gem society more efficient all around."

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda want to follow this with a sort of headcanon list of all the gem types the empire to drive home the entire idea that "to add fusions into the gempire would be a monumental task, and the Diamonds just couldn't be assed to actually finish all that paperwork"
> 
> Sorry if it's not super great, I'm more of an impulse writer and I just couldn't make myself add more detail outside of the dialogue for this
> 
> That being said I do take suggestions in the comments if you have a story you just really want to see


End file.
